Liquid cleaning compositions



United States Patent Int. Cl. c11d 3/065 US. Cl. 252-137 5 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Liquid cleaning compositions comprising anaqueous solution containing 20 to 50% of an alkaline potassium phosphateand 15 to 40% by weight of a water-soluble salt of amino alkane sulfonicacids.

PRIOR ART Powdery or solid rinsing, washing and cleansing agents with arelatively high concentration of alkaline salts are well known and havebeen used for many industrial and household purposes such as washingtextiles made of synthetic fibers, cotton, etc., and for washing dishes,tiles, floors, etc. For a long time, attempts have been made to preparethe said agents in the form of liquid concentrates since the liquid formhas distinct advantages in manufacturing, packaging, insensitivity toatmospheric humidity and easy and rapid solubility and handling.However, until now, no satisfactory results have been obtained since theliquids had disadvantages such as turbidity, precipitation, phaseseparations due to poor cold resistance, etc. Concomitant use ofdissolving intermediates, organic solvents and the like did not give anysatisfactory solution to these problems.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to providestable liquid cleaning compositions having a high concentration ofalkaline acting potassium phosphates.

This and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeobvious from the following detailed description.

THE INVENTION The liquid cleaning compositions of the invention arecomprised of an aqueous solution containing 20 to 50% by weight of analkaline acting potassium phosphate and 15 to 40% by weight ofwater-soluble salts of aminoalkane sulfonic acids of the formulaN-Rr-SOaX wherein R is an aliphatic radical of 12 to 18 carbons whichmay be interrupted with ether or amino groups, R is an aliphatic radicalof 1 to 6 carbon atoms substituted with l to 2 hydroxy which may alsocontain ether groups, R is selected from the group consisting of alkyland hydroxy alkyl radicals of 1 to 6 carbon atoms and X is an organic orinorganic water soluble cation, at least 50%, preferably at least 70% ofthe total cations present being potassium ions. The said solutions areclear, aqueous alkaline reacting Washing and cleansing agents with ahigh content of phosphates and do not require any dissolvingintermediates. The compositions can contain other known washing agentadditives such 3,459,666 Patented Aug. 5, 1969 as silicates, opticalbrightening agents, disinfectants, whitening agents, agents to controlfoam and viscosity, etc.

Examples of suitable alkaline acting potassium phosphates which are wellknown are tripotassium orthophosphate, tetrapotassium diphosphate,pentapotassium triphosphate, etc.

Examples of suitable amino alkane sulfonates are the sodium salt ofN-dodecyl-N-(fi-hydroxyethyl)-3-aminopropane-l-sulfonic acid, thepotassium salt of N-(cocoalkyl)N-(B-hydroxyethyl)-3-amino-2-hydroxypropanel-sulfonic acid, wherein thecocoalkyl is a mixture of alkyl radicals of 12 to 18 carbon atoms, thesodium salt of N (4 oxahexadecyl) N-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)-3-aminopropane-l-sulfonic acid, the potassium salt of N- (4 azahexadecyl)N hydroxymethyl-6-amino-hexanel-sulfonic acid, the sodium salt ofN-(mixed alkyl of 16 to 18 carbon atoms) N(/3-hydroxypropyl)-2-aminoethane-l-sulfonic acid, triethanolamine saltof N-oleyl-N- (5 hydroxy-3-oxapentyl)-2-aminoethane-1-sulfonic acid,etc. The salts of the said sulfonic acids are preferably alkali metaland amine salts. Examples of suitable amine salts are ethanolamine,diethanolamine, triethanolamine, diethylamine, butyl amine and otheralkyl and hydroxyalkyl amines wherein the alkyl has 1 to 6 carbon atoms.

The said aminoalkane sulfonates can be prepared by well known methods.One method comprises reacting a primary amine of the formula R NH with asalt of a haloalkane sulfonic acid or with cyclic anhydrides ofoxyalkane sulfonic acid to obtain a sulfonic acid of the formula R NHRSO X and treating the latter with agents such as ethyleneoxide,propylene oxide, glycidol, etc. to introduce the R group. Another methodcomprises reacting an amino sulfonic acid of the formula NH R SO H withfirst an aliphatic halide having 12 to 18 carbon atoms and then with anagent to introduce the R radical such as by hydroxyethylation.

The aqueous concentrates of the invention are exceptionally stable forprolonged storage, entirely clear and remain homogenous even atrelatively low temperatures. They are particularly suitable for washingtextiles of cellulose and synthetic fibers and for the washing ofdishes, tiles, etc. The amount used will depend upon what is beingcleaned. As a rule, 0.3 to 1.0 gram of the liquid concentrate is usedper liter of dishwashing solution and about 2 to 6 gm. of liquidconcentrate per liter for washing synthetic or cotton textiles.

In the following examples, there are described several preferredembodiments to illustrate the invention. However, it should beunderstood that the invention is not intended to be limited to thespecific embodiments.

Example I 25 parts by weight of tripotassium orthophosphate and 15 partsby weight of the sodium salt of N-(4-azahexadecyl)N-(fl-hydroxyethyl)-3-amino-2-hydroxypropane-l-sulfonic acid were addedto 60 parts by weight of water to obtain a clear, homogenous liquid withgood stability. The said liquid was especially suitable for cleaningtiles, floors, etc., and for washing dishes. If a more alkaline solutionis desired, alkali metal hydroxides such as potassium hydroxide orsodium hydroxide may be added to the solution to obtain the desired pH.

Example II One part by weight of a commercial optical brightening agentfor synthetic fibers, 20 parts by weight of potassium salt ofN-(cocoalkyl)-N-(,3-hydroxyethyl)-3-amino- 2-hydroxypropane-l-sulfonicacid and 40 parts by weight of pentapotassium triphosphate weredissolved in 39 parts by weight of water to obtain a homogeneous liquid,slightly opalescent because of the optical brightener. The

3 said liquid was an outstanding agent for synthetic textiles made ofperlon, nylon, etc.

Example III Twenty parts by weight of the sodium salt of N-(4-azahexadecyl) N (B-hydroxyethyl)-2-aminoethane-1- sulfonic acid, 30parts by weight of tetrapotassium diphosphate and 1 part by weight offormalin were dissolved in 49 parts by weight of water to obtain aliquid disinfecting, rinsing, washing and cleansing agent having goodresistance to cold.

Various modifications of the composition of the invention may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope thereof, and it is to beunderstood that the invention is to be limited only as defined in theappended claims.

We claim:

1. Clear, aqueous cleaning concentrates consisting essentially of anaqueous solution containing 20 to 50% by weight of an alkaline actingpotassium phosphate and 15 to 40% by weight of water soluble salts ofaminoalkane sulfonic acids of the formula wherein R is selected from thegroup consisting of an aliphatic hydrocarbon radical of 12 to 18 carbonatoms and aliphatic hydrocarbon radicals of 12 to 18 carbon atomsinterrupted with a group selected from the group consisting of etheroxygen and amino nitrogen, R is selected from the group consisting of analkyl radical of 1 to 6 carbon atoms substituted with 1 to 2 hydroxy andalkyl radical of 1 to 6 carbon atoms substituted with 1 4 r to 2 hydroxyand ether oxygen, R is selected from the group consisting of alkyl andhydroxylalkyl radicals of 1 to 6 carbon atoms and X is a cation selectedfrom the group consisting of alkali metal and alkyl amine andhydroxyalkyl amines having alkyl of 1 to 6 carbon atoms, at least of thetotal cations present in the solution being potassium ions. 2. Aconcentrate of claim 1 wherein at least Q the total cat-ions present inthe solution are potassium ions.

3. A concentrate of claim 1 wherein the alkaline acting potassiumphosphate is tetnapotassium diphosphate.

4. A concentrate of claim 1 wherein the alkaline acting potassiumphosphate is pentapotassium triphosphate. 5. A concentrate of claim 1wherein the alkaline aoting potassium phosphate is tripotassiumorthophosphate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,746,930 5/1956 Wells et a1.252-435 3,052,635 9/1962 Wix0n 252-137 3,079,416 2/1963 Dupr 2521373,145,178 8/1964 Dupr 252137 3,346,873 10/1967 Herrmann 252-137 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,020,144 11/ 1957 Germany.

LEON D. ROSDOL, Primary Examiner B. BETTIS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl.X.R. 252-438, 153

